Holden Beach Property Owners Association

The Town of Holden Beach Board of Commissioners will meet Tuesday, February 15 for their regular monthly meeting.  Highlights include a possible parking shuttle from the mainland to the beach, finalizing paid parking, and recommendations on what to do with the Town-owned “Sewer House” at 796 OBW.  The Pier purchase is not on the regular agenda but could be discussed in Executive Session, as the Town will not be able to close as planned on the property on February 28.  The agenda is below.  Click here for the meeting packet.

Updated Parking Zones 01-26-22       Special Meeting Results Summary 01-26-22 Table

The Town of Holden Beach Board of Commissioners met Wednesday, January 26, for a Special Meeting, click here for the agenda and meeting packet.  After extensive Public Comment, the Commissioners reviewed the plan for parking.

Summary of key changes made during agenda item 3a:

• “Compact” designation was changed to “LSV” for low-speed vehicles (i.e., golf carts)
• Eliminated parking not located near a Public Access
• The parking on most side streets intersecting Ocean Blvd was reduced to two LSV spaces
• Right of Way (ROW) parking adjacent to marshland was kept unchanged but is dependent on the results of the wetland delineation
• Swordfish might not have sufficient space for parking since the road is off-center on the ROW
• Pier parking lot was eliminated
• New parking zone was added for Raleigh St.
• Other changes are noted in the Table.

HBPOA has created  updated maps that reflect the changes made at the meeting to the best of our ability.  It also shows green arrows for public beach accessways and emergency vehicle accessways.  Refer to the table for a narrative description of the location.

The table compares the results with the original plan from the January 18th meeting.  The numbers shown in the table are based on our notes from the meeting and from listening to the audio recording on Facebook, which was often very difficult to follow.  The total of 576 spaces shown on the table doesn’t agree with the “around 500” number that was stated at the end of the meeting.   This discrepancy will need to be resolved once the “official” number is released by the Town.  It was noted that the results of the meeting are a “working document” and subject to change.

The meeting was recessed until Wednesday, February 2, at 3:30PM.  At that time they will continue the agenda.

Again, the Commissioners went into Executive Session to discuss acquiring property.  No action was taken.

We have received questions about agenda item #11 from the BOC meeting last Tuesday,  January 18.  The item concerned converting the Town-owned property in the 700/800 block into paid parking lots ASAP.   The attached picture shows the parcels owned by the Town in the 700/800 block that have been proposed for paid parking lots.  The number of proposed spots has varied.

The commissioners tabled the parking discussion and voted to have a Special Meeting to discuss Paid Parking, Wednesday, January 26 at 2:00.  However, they did vote to determine where parking is viable along the marshes.  They directed the Town Manager to have an engineer proceed with delineating the marsh areas with the appropriate agencies to determine where bulkheading could go in order to get a cost estimate for converting the property to parking.

Since Paid Parking areas have not been determined yet this could all change! 

Board of Commissioners Special Meeting

Wednesday, January 26, 2:00PM

Topic: Paid Parking

The Town of Holden Beach Board of Commissioners will meet Wednesday, January 26, 2022 at 2:00PM for a Special Meeting.  The discussion and possible action are about Paid Parking.  This is the meeting they decided to have at last Tuesday’s Commissioners Meeting.  Click here for the agenda and meeting packet.  The Meeting Packet contains the same information from last Tuesday’s meeting as no revisions have been made yet.  “Revisions will be made on Board action at the meeting”.

Quick Summary:  The Paid Parking Plan was sent back to the drawing board for revision.  A special meeting will be held to re-work the plan.

The revised Pier Plan and associated Resolution were approved with no additional changes.   

Board of Commissioners’ Meeting Follow Up – January 2022

REGULAR MEETING:

1.    Invocation

2.    Call to Order/ Welcome

3.    Pledge of Allegiance

4.    Agenda Approval Agenda was unanimously amended to split public comment into two groups, with comments on the No Wake Zone remaining as item #6, other comments moving to #7B, adding #7A a question and answer opportunity about the Pier Plan, removing item #9, and changing #10A to Discussion of on island-wide parking spaces, with other items in #10 to follow.

5.    Approval of Minutes

 a.     Minutes of the Regular Meeting of December 21, 2021Approved unanimously.

6.    Public Comments on No Wake Zone  Agenda Items No comments.

7.    Discussion on No Wake Zone – Mayor Holden  Appears that coordination between Army Corps of Engineers and enforcement agencies needs to be ironed out.  They will follow up.

7.A. Question and Answer: Commissioner Kwiatkowski answered questions about the Pier Plan.  Plans will not be finalized until the complete inspection (including below water inspection) are completed after the pier has been purchased.

7.B Public Comments on other agenda items.  Public Comments lasted for over 1.5 hours.  Almost everyone was in opposition to the parking plan as presented.

8.    Police Report – Chief Dixon  House fire at 227 OBW; the missing dog has not been found. They are working on integration with the County’s 911 system.  There will be a run on January 29, expect delays.

9.    Discussion and Possible Action on Ordinance 22-01, An Ordinance Amending the Holden Beach Code of Ordinances, Chapter 92: Nuisances (Outside Lights) – Inspections Director Evans  Removed from agenda.

10. Discussion and Possible Action on Items Necessary to Proceed with Paid Parking – Chief Dixon & Lieutenant Dilworth Commissioner Kwiatkowski provided some suggestions to modify the proposed parking plan to remove parking on streets without public accesses and reduce the number of total spots.  It was decided that they will have a Special Meeting to discuss Parking.

a.     Ordinance 22-02, An Ordinance Amending the Holden Beach Code of Ordinances, Title VII: Traffic Code No action taken.
b.     Ordinance 22-03, An Ordinance Amending the Holden Beach Code of Ordinances, Chapter 95: Streets (Section 95.05 Public Rights of Way) Motion by Commissioner Kwiatkowski to reject Ordinance.  Passed unanimously.
c.     Resolution 22-01, Resolution Amending the Holden Beach Fee Schedule  Code No action taken.
d.     Services Agreement between the Town and Otto Connect  Code No action taken.
 

11. Discussion and Possible Action for the Town Manager to Proceed with Appropriate Steps to Convert the Town Owned Properties in the 800 Block of Ocean Boulevard West to a Lot to be Designated for Paid Parking ASAP – Commissioner Kwiatkowski Motion to delineate (the marsh on) all Town owned property bordering marshes on the island.  Passed unanimously.

12. Discussion and Possible Approval of Resolution 22-02, Personnel Policy Administration – Town Manager Hewett Passed unanimously.

13. Discussion and Possible Approval of Resolution 22-03, Resolution Regarding the 15^th Anniversary of the GFWC of Holden Beach – Town Manager Hewett  Passed unanimously.

14. Discussion and Board Endorsement of a Revised Proposed Pier Plan Document and Associated Resolution (Resolution 22-04) – Commissioner Kwiatkowski Passed unanimously.

15. Discussion and Election of a Board Member to the Audit Committee – Town Clerk Finnell Commissioner Kwiatkowski will continue to be a member of the Audit Committee.

16. Discussion and Selection of Audit Committee Members – Town Clerk Finnell All current members will serve another term and Mike Felmly will serve as an alternate.

17. Discussion and Possible Action on Termination of Lease for 796 Ocean Boulevard West – Town Manager Hewett  Passed unanimously.

18. Public Comments on General Items More public comments on Parking were shared.

19. Town Manager’s Report The Town Manager presented his quarterly financial report.  He reported that Town Finances were where expected.  The Nourishment and dredging projects were discussed. Chief Dixon will be serving in a leadership capacity for Region 6.

20. Mayor’s Comments He is confident that the parking will be resolved. 

21. Board of Commissioners’ Comments Commissioner Smith thanked people for coming and promised taxes would not be raised due to the Pier. Commissioner Murdock was sorry he was not at the meeting.  He expressed concerns about the parking plan and the lack of boat trailer access. Commissioner Dyer discussed the Parking issues and the Pier.  She thanked the first responders regarding the house fire.  Commissioner Kwiatkowski thanked everyone for coming.  She discussed the County’s plans and her interactions with them for boat trailer parking.  Commissioner Brown thanked the staff.  He discussed parking and his dislike of Post and Rope.

22. Executive Session Pursuant to North Carolina General Statute 143-318.11(A)(5), To Instruct the Staff or Agent Concerning the Negotiation of the Price and Terms of Contracts Concerning the Acquisition of Real Properties – Commissioner Murdock No action was taken.

23. Adjournment

* The remote meeting will be livestreamed on the Town’s Facebook page. Visithttps://www.facebook.com/holdenbeachtownhall/to watch the livestream. Public comments can be submitted to [email protected] prior to 1:00 p.m. on January 18, 2022. 

Front door area

The Town’s Pier Plan, summarized here, is to restore the building and pier to a safe operating condition without any significant upgrades, and to continue to operate it as a fishing pier, restaurant, and retail establishment by leasing it to business providers.  Total capital cost is estimated at $4.3 million, financed by  $3.3 million in public debt with the remainder to be paid from BPART. 

The Plan the Commissioners approved last month was found to have errors and a new Pier Plan is in this month’s Meeting Packet, beginning on page 123.  The Town’s expectation is the property can be repaired, maintained, and operated without an increase in property taxes or special assessments.  

The HBPOA’s assessment of this plan concludes the pier will cost about $300,000 per year in excess of reasonably projected net revenues, representing an average cost of about $130 per household per year.  The deficit is expected to be made up from BPART funds.

The HBPOA assessment also concluded:

1. Rental of the pier building as a restaurant is simply not likely. Click here for the analysis.
2. The Town will be taking on significant insurance and replacement risks since they would be obligated to rebuild the building to current codes if it was destroyed by fire or flood, which would cost significantly more than the replacement value insurance proceeds for the existing structure.
3. The pier structure will not be insured for flood/major storm damage, but the loan documents require it to be rebuilt. There is no estimate of what it would cost to rebuild the pier, but the plan suggests the Town might be eligible for FEMA grant relief.
4. The Town’s Plan carves off the expenses of purchasing the 50′ parcel that will be used for access.
5. The Town is taking on an environmental abatement risk due to the unlined grease pit on the property.
6. The Town’s plan for the Pier is very limited and may not be attractive to many homeowners and renters since it merely restores the derelict building and the derelict pier to minimum code without any significant upgrades, additions, or cosmetic improvements, making the pier more-or-less as it was 10 years ago.

There will be a required Public Hearing on the $3,300,000 financing contract on Tuesday, January 18, at 5:00 PM.  During the Commissioner’s Meeting immediately following the Public Hearing the Board will vote to adopt their revised plan.  Comments for the meeting or Public Hearing should be sent to [email protected].

The topic of Paid Parking was discussed at yesterday’s HBPOA meeting.  As promised, below are pictures showing the locations of the proposed paid public parking zones based on the maps contained in the BOC’s meeting packet, as best we can determine.  Please refer to Tables 1 & 2 (last photo) for a more detailed description of the location and the number and type of parking spaces being proposed in each zone.  In the photos below, the red box is roughly the parking area, and the white box gives the Parking Zone Number  Refer to the Parking Zone Number in the chart (last photo) to determine how many spots are planned, if they are on one side of the street or both, and whether they are Compact or Regular spots.

Click here for the handout from the meeting with the Parking Summary and Impacts for Property Owners.

The BOC will be voting on this proposal at their meeting on Tuesday.   If you want to comment at the meeting you need to sign up prior to the start of the meeting.  If you are emailing comments send them to [email protected].  Feel free to copy HBPOA at [email protected].

The pier purchase and the implementation of paid public parking are two critical topics that have become very intertwined since the revenue from paid parking is needed to cover the costs of the pier and avoid a property tax increase.

We will be discussing these two topics at our HBPOA meeting on Saturday at 10 AM in the Chapel Fellowship room.  We plan to provide a virtual option if you can’t attend in person.  Here is a link to the Zoom meeting.

The Town of Holden Beach Board of Commissioners will meet on Tuesday, January 18th for their regular monthly meeting.  Highlights include:

• Public Hearing related to the pier financing.
• Updated Pier Plan with revised parking revenue estimates and adding a micro-RV-Park.
• Proceeding with the paid parking plan from Otto, which identified 935 public parking spaces on the island and significant changes to current ordinances.  This includes the elimination of Post and Rope.
• Converting the Town-owned marsh-side areas in the 800 block to parking lots.
• Changing the lighting ordinances – several changes including no lights seaward of beachfront homes.

Click here for the meeting packet which includes the details on the above items.

We realize the majority of property owners will not be able to attend the Commissioners’ meeting, so if you would like to provide input, please send your comments to [email protected].  If you would like us to read your comments at the meeting, please include a statement saying “I authorize a representative of the HBPOA to read this email during the comment period since I will not be able to attend in person” and send us a copy at [email protected].

The HBPOA will have a membership meeting this

Saturday, January 15^th

at 10AM in the Chapel Fellowship room. 

The primary purpose of this meeting is to discuss the Town’s plan for the pier property.  

At our Labor Day meeting, we adopted a position to withhold support for the pier purchase until the plans and associated costs for the property were known.  At their meeting on December 21st, the Town Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a plan for the pier property.  Click here to view the plan and resolution from the meeting packet.  Click here to view our summary of the key points and assumptions contained in the Town’s plan. Now that a plan has been developed, the HBPOA will be polling property owners to find out if they support it.

We have carefully reviewed the adopted plan and raised questions about assumptions #9 and #10 related to paid parking revenues since they didn’t match the numbers from the Parking Committee.  We have been told by a Commissioner that the projections in the December Plan are not correct, and a revised version of the plan will be available in the BOC’s January Meeting Packet this Thursday.  We will post and distribute the revised version once it is available.

Survey Results

The results of the 2021 HBPOA Survey are linked below.  The survey remained open for one month, during which time 768 people participated, the largest response we have ever had.  Most of the survey questions gave an opportunity for comments or open-ended responses.  The Final Report contains all the charts, comments, and open-ended responses and is 179 pages long.  Because of the length of the document we also created a shorter version.  The “charts only” version contains only the key charts.   Click here for the PDF of the Charts Only version.  Click here to see the full report with comments.

We appreciate the time and effort you spent in providing opinions regarding critical Town issues.  The survey results will be forwarded to the Town Commissioners and Mayor.  We sincerely hope they give your input serious consideration as they make decisions on these issues.

Survey Tool and Approach

Survey Monkey was selected as the opinion software based on its reputation and the ability to create totally anonymous surveys.  To help ensure the integrity of the survey, the link to take the survey was protected behind a password.  An HBPOA postcard with the password was mailed via USPS to ALL property owners.  In addition, an email with the link was sent to all property owners for which we have an email address.  The goal was to hear from ALL Holden Beach property owners, not only our members.  It was also to limit, as much as possible,  participation by people who do not own property on the island.

Survey Method

We used a 5-point Likert scale for most of our answer options.  Likert scales are one of the most reliable ways to measure opinions, perceptions, and behaviors without bias. Given this method and the statistically significant number of participants relative to property owners on the island (i.e., the population sample size), the confidence level of the survey results is 95% with a plus-or-minus 3% margin of error.  The confidence level indicates how much you can expect the survey results to reflect the view of the overall population.